Crop Insurance Today Fourth Quarter 2022 - 3

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" Some Change . . . "
This issue of TODAY® magazine comes to
Tom Zacharias, NCIS President
Federal crop insurance is
perhaps best characterized by
its ability to adapt to change.
One of the strengths of the crop
insurance program when it
comes to responding to weather
and climate uncertainty
is its flexibility.
" press " as we close out another year and the
country's political landscape is being sorted out
with late vote tallies and a possible runoff or two.
It is beyond my pay grade to prognosticate on the
political front, so I won't. With some level of understatement,
suffice it to say we face an uncertain
political climate and an uncertain economy
in an uncertain world.
What does this mean for crop insurance? In
all of this we have " some change " to be reckoned
with as we go forward. There are plenty of songs
about " change " and it is difficult for me to resist a
lyric or two as we pen this message for our final
edition of 2022. Consider Bob Dylan, " The Times
they are a-changing'. " There's David Bowie,
" Changes, " or Tyrone Davis, " Can I Change
My Mind? "
Some noteworthy lyrics of Boz Scaggs really
strike a chord with me as we put the end of
2022 and the beginning of 2023 into perspective.
Without further adieu, " Some Change... "
" ... Some change comes down for the better
You feel it move
Then some come around like the weather
You take that in too... "
Agriculture and Federal crop insurance have
undergone more than " some change " in the
past few decades, and any attempt to characterize
these changes and assess their importance
would, no doubt, fall well short of the mark.
I do believe it is safe to say that the changes
we have observed in our industry have " come
down for the better. " Several of the changes
in Federal crop insurance have " come around
like the weather. " Most notably, the 1994 Crop
Insurance Reform Act was in response to the
flooding and excess moisture weather events of
1993. More recently, the " just-in-time " development
of the Hurricane Wind Endorsement policy,
which provided much needed protection to
Southern growers, also came " around like the
weather. " Of course, the numerous weather disasters
recently faced by growers-including
the 2012 drought, the prevented planting conditions
of 2019, the 2020 derecho, and ongoing
drought conditions-demonstrate how changing
weather is affecting agriculture.
Federal crop insurance is perhaps best characterized
by its ability to adapt to change. One
of the strengths of the crop insurance program
when it comes to responding to weather and climate
uncertainty is its flexibility. Crop insurance
has enabled farmers to survive extreme weather
events and adopt climate friendly conservation
practices. For the most part, these changes have
been voluntary, science-based, and data-driven.
" Some Change "
and Industry
" Infrastructure
...I guess it's time to break out a few pesos
Cause I'm getting to where I like the view
And if you're feeling lucky and
You ain't just passing through
You might change some too... "
In the previous issue of this publication, I
spoke to the importance of our industry's " institutional
infrastructure, " primarily in terms
of the investment in human capital. That is, the
Continued on page 36
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Crop Insurance Today Fourth Quarter 2022

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